XOOPSer of the Month & XOOPS Innovation Awards

XOOPS Innovators

Our XOOPS Innovation Award is given to people who create something very unique and very innovative for XOOPS! We are clear that XOOPS can only succeed, when we push the limits of our creativity, imagination, and innovation to "infinity and beyond" . And therefore we would like to recognize people who create this "WOW!" effect, when we see what they've done. The XOOPS Innovation Award is not a monthly award, i.e. theoretically, there might be a month where we won't give one, but we certainly hope that this will never happen

I've been coding in HTML and CSS for over 8 years, I am more of a front end coder but I do dabble in PHP sometimes if I have to modify something.

What is your expertise?

My expertise is in HTML and CSS and front end design

What got you to XOOPS?

Back in 2004 I was wanting to build a website as a hobby, I did not know anything about CMS’s and at that point I didn’t know much about building websites so I needed a CMS that was easy to use and customizable, I tried a few different CMS but ultimately I stuck with XOOPS as it was the easiest for me to use and customize. That original website I built with XOOPS got very popular (a Michael Jackson fansite) and I have stuck with XOOPSever since for any project that requires a CMS

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

Its ease of use and how easy it is to customize themes and templates even with limited knowledge of HTML/CSS, I haven't found a CMS that is as easy to modify as XOOPS is and I think that it's one of XOOPS' great strengths.

The main goal for the redesign was to make a responsive website that looked good on a mobile device. Being a community based charity, it is essential that we can communicate with as wide a range of people as possible, as more and more people browse the web on mobile devices, it was important to create a website that was viewable on a wide range of devices, thanks to responsive design and the power of XOOPS templating, we now have a great looking desktop website and a great looking mobile website without the need for two separate applications.

What was your most important learning from working on this Website?

I learned a few things from working on the website, I learned a lot more about responsive design and HTML5. For me working on any new project is a learning experience as each new project has it’s own challenges, for example with the redesign I had rewrite module templates to use divs instead of tables for layout so getting all that working nicely was a learning experience.

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

Definitely URL rewriting in the core.

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?

Probably this recent redesign, it was a challenge for me to turn a fairly large website into a responsive site for mobile and modify a lot of templates. I am pleased that it turned out well.

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

Playing video games and guitar

You favorite dish and drink?

My favorite dish is probably pizza and my favorite drink is of course Scotland’s other national drink Irn Bru, which is a soft drink.

What about movies and music?

I like mostly sci-fi and comedy movies and as for music anything rock, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and of course anything by Michael Jackson.

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

Everyone just be cool to each other.

If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?

I would probably live sometime in the future, anywhere in the world would be fine because hopefully in the future the world will be a better place.

I started programming when I was 15, with my good old commodore 64, in Basic and then in assembler (a hard byte by byte programming...)

What is your expertise?

I studied Pascal and C at school and I started my HTML, PHP, JavaScript experience at work. I work for a small non-profit OGN (Caritas Diocesana Bergamasca); few year ago we needed to upgrade our internet site and so I ended up doing it...

What got you to XOOPS?

I was searching for a good CMS, an a friend, Alessandro Maestroni, told me about XOOPS...

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

I think there are a lot of good Open Source CMS... I like XOOPS because it's very easy to learn, and because the distance between ideas and reality is very short...

Why did you decide to work on the xhttperror, xAddresses, and AjaxFileManager modules ?

xHttpError: I was looking for a server errors manager for my sites. AM Hterror is a good module but it's quite old, so that's why I started on xHttpError... xAddresses: I had to improve Addresses module... AjaxFileManager: an experiment.

What are the future plans for these modules?

xHttpError: This module is quite ready, RC in some days, then Release. It is useful if you need a better control on your sites.

xAddresses: Not ready, a lot of improvement/bug fixes to do, I need testers. Useful if you need maps on your site.

AjaxFileManager: Also this is ready, I need testers. A useful way to manage files on your site, not powerful as a ftp connection but..

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

An easy way to connect to other databases, not only MySQL .

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

I 'm an husband and a father. I have a wonderful wife and 2 daughters (8 and 1,5 years). Mainly I spent my time with them... sometime I play music with friends or I go out for trekking (there are wonderful mountains near my home, The Alpi Orobiche). When I can I travel, I like travel...

Movies: action movies Music: I like music (I play guitar, bass and drum with some friends). I like Buster Poindexter, Silvio Rodriguez, John Cougar Mellencamp, Irish, Scotch and English folk music, classical music, country ... the only one I don't like is disco music (sorry)

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

Enjoy your present time, time never stops and never comes back. !

If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?

July 2012: Ali Nili (Irmtfan)

This month, we would like to recognize Ali Nili (Irmtfan) from Iran, for his support on the XOOPS Forums

Where are you from, and where do you live now?

My full name is Ali Nili (my family name (Nili) is really short in Persian!) aka irmtfan in English webistes. I was born in 1979 in Iran-Qazvin and I lived in that city for the whole of my life. Qazvin is a rather big city in about 150 km away from Tehran, our capital.

I moved to Tehran one year ago and now I live and work there.

How long have you been programming, what got you interested?

Its better if you asked me what is my job and profession. I am a chemical engineer and have graduated degree in Oil, gas and refinery with advance knowledge in commercial business. Until last year I was working in an appliance factory in Qazvin. Recently I started to work for an international trading company that has 4 branches in Turkey, China, Russia and UAE. I'm not a PHP/MySQL programmer and I just have some basic knowledge but I'm fluent in MATLAB programming and have advance knowledge of chemical engineering software like Aspen Plus. Therefore I can read and judge source code and can tell you which code is professional.

What is your expertise?

I like to create easier and more professional algorithms for the same task.

In the whole of my life I follow easier ways for doing the same thing and I am successful in finding these ways.

What got you to XOOPS?

Around 2002, I needed to create a website for my favorite Harry Potter series. I tested some CMSs and finally chose XOOPS. From that time I've learned many useful things

In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?

I like to make XOOPS a professional international CMS. So because I have not that time to learn PHP/MySQL Smarty, HTML, jQuery, and since I Know some developers who can write codes better than me, I prefer to suggest enhancements like solutions/ways for bugs, request features (tones of them in www.sf.net) and show the right/easier ways for doing things.

Also, I like to communicate the real end user needs to developers because IMO coders sometimes didn’t know what an end user needs.

You've been testing many modules recently, contributing solutions to them. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities that you see for XOOPS?

Smarty is one of the biggest advantages of XOOPS. Also XOOPS is really extensible which I like it.

The most challenges comes from developers not using XOOPS API and not being familiar with Core codes. Many times I saw they wrote 3 pages of unneeded codes that can be done with calling 3 lines of core functions.

The other big challenge is hard-codes. I really hate hard-codes and this interview is a big opportunity for me to define what is hard-code:

1- Any HTML codes in PHP files. Or PHP codes in HTML files. 2- Any smarty variable that doing more than one job. 3- Any file like image, CSS, JavaScript that is called with a direct link in HTML, PHP files and any CSS codes being in HTML files instead of CSS. 4- Any self-defined functions in modules that are already defined in the core and doing the same thing. They just conflicts with each other.

The following is a more depth/minor hard-code: 5- Any direct access to database and queries directly reading the table information. 6- Any module that do not read/recognize the local class and local files

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

I would like a real advanced profile module containing all features you can find in social networking websites. Current profile module need a huge development.

I like cooking, eating, reading books, watching movies, listening music and also most importantly - exercising. I was a professional swimmer (I was in the university team) but now I like aerobics, climbing, running and cycling.

I am really serious about sports. Maybe I forgot to eat but I never forgot my routine aerobic program. I'm totally fit.

You favorite dish and drink?

My favorite dish is rather strange and maybe it is a horrific dish for you! But anyway it is Kalle Pache. (search in Google to see pics)

Simon Roberts (Wishcraft)

This month, we would like to recognize Simon Roberts (Wishcraft) from Australia for the creation of IP Log Module, to log IPs of site visitors, and many other modules.

Where are you from, and where do you live now?

I was born in Hornsby Hospital in 1978, I grew up with a very happy childhood and lived on the North Shore of Sydney for my early teens and adulthood. I then moved into the Inner west of Sydney where I have lived in a number of warehouses and board houses. I now live with my wife in Dulwich Hill in a converted shed at the back of my wife's parents house

How long have you been programming?

Originally my introduction to computing was a commodore Vic 20, this was a 32k Basic Eprom computer when i was just 11. I use to plug it into the TV and it came with to introduction to programming books from writing basic textual games to math systems like mazes. I then became seriously interested in programming when an 80386 and a modem came into the house and I started access BBS systems in Sydney to post on Usenet in groups like comp.protocol and alt.nanotechology.

My first course on programming I took at TAFE which is the Australia state run education facility this was in C Programming and I had a family friend who work for a computing department in the defense force provide me with a license of Turbo C++ 2.0 by Borland. He also provided my first copy of Visual Basic back in version 1 of the compiler which I stuck at inversion changes up until visual basic 6.0 where I migrated on the release of .NET to the LAMP Stack environment since then i have been working in PHP which I learned in the XOOPS Keying well.

What is your expertise?

I study much of physics at college and took it as an elective as well, I would say now after contributing to the design of the internet like my IP Address Stratum system which the internet uses and having the full physics of the internet and society using it at my disposal, I would have to say physical abstraction layers or the physics of computing and the abstraction it causes my expertise.

For example chaos theory defines that 'every action has an opposite reaction.' So in an information system like the internet every action that happens within it has an opposite reaction outside of it, then our brains reassemble the message in reverse and provide things like the sound of the world from human and physical interaction.

What got you to XOOPS?

When I decided to migrate from the VB6 and Windows programming world I had been in for 12 years or so, I looked around at PHP after a friend suggested I learn it and migrate cause I was reaching a stage of writers block with VB. I looked at Drupal, Joomla and a few other frameworks that where around in 2006 and decided on XOOPS, partly cause of the Protector title where in my research it would show that my clients would be safe from my earlier code and also the file base seem congruent with other systems I had worked on in VB.

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

I would have to say the community is a big plus at XOOPS, although the forum can be negative at times, it has caused me to toughen up and pick fights less also the client base is good. I think XOOPS need to have some form of investment made in it by both developers and financially to fund marketing as it doesn't have much exposure or market share in Australia in fact many people I talk to haven't even heard of it and know of things like Drupal and Joomla; I am sure this is the same in many other parts of the world, if XOOPS 3 is an MVC and a complete rework seeming MVC is all the fad and will be for sometime I think if it has all it current features it will be widely used, but it still needs to advertise.

Why did you decide to create the IPLog module?

I decide to work on IPLog for Natalie Artmova from the Ukraine, she paid nothing for the development and it was done over 3 hours. She wanted a way of monitoring IP addresses and locations of her logged in users for security. This is why it is for a project she is working on called Mercury, I released it as Open Source to the community. People should use if they want to log the logged in users IP and location of their user base.

What was your most important learning from working on IPLog?

I stopped learning in programming many years ago, these day programming for me is I feel for the code and it comes out like poetry. However I guess the one thing I learned was to do proper testing as some people after I released it, reported a few bugs, I thought I covered that.

What are the future plans for this module?

Probably all it needs is the guests to be reported as well, that is the only thing and maybe a graph or two as well.

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

My tagged branch for XOOPS 2.6 is a must as far as I am concern to be released with XOOPS 2.6; it include PDO as well as database access for Postgress, Firebird and many other database platforms if you want to fill out the MySQL SQL to Pivot to your platforms SQL in the PDO directory which really should be called pivot in the database classes area of it. It has other features as well, but I don't want to see my hard earned code go to waste. Some of those features include, comment RSS Feed like WordPress, a sitemap XML Feed provided by modules as well as a file base cache for long queries and things like the config class so XOOPS does far less query per session than normal on the database of your choice.

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?

Still today it would have to be winning the Computer Olympics with my gravity render engine, this was the first time this competition which is now called the Western Sydney University Computing Competition had ran and there were 3 groups of people that entered. Microsoft got in touch and wanted to release something like it in Encarta for an example of gravity. We said because it was Microsoft, no, had I know about Open Source at the time I would have said yes. That was with my mate Chad who I have lost contact with these days

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

I like to give my fingers these days a bit of exercise on the ol'd blog when I am not coding, I also have some interests in Ethnobotany and psychedelics even though as an atheist I don't think any of them are a spiritual molecule use to trypt out the natives. Or hanging out with friends is also good.

You favorite dish and drink?

I would have to say it would be a Mars Bar and a coke from Saba Tobacconist in Enmore, NSW, I like the chat that goes with it with Mr. Wing Hall the store owner. he is a good friend, and a great place to pick up some of my internet ready snuff and tobacco.

What about movies and music?

I tend not to watch movies they have become too deja vu for me but I am classically musically trained by the Duhurst house and college I use to play both the piano and clarinet. These days I don't have any MP3s on my system as I got sick of typing them in my keying well, so i get most of my music DJ to me on shoutcast.com - I tend to only listen to streams and quiet a variant of them but my two favorite radio stations on the web is www.idobi.com and www.digitalgunfire.com

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

Here at Chronolabs, we control the transmission!

If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?

Probably right now at the start of DA (Digital Age). With the advent of modern convinces and communication I think most of the amazing discoveries are here and now.

Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?

Last time I said the Queen, that has changed I would like to meet Vint Cerf, the the Chairman of ICANN, to shake his hand and thank him for using my ideas as a child at age 13 for the protocol he was working on after PPP called IPv4. Which has some of my concepts in it.

Who would I thank the most at XOOPS?

Over the years although we don't always see eye to eye and I have had to humble myself a bit and not take it personally, the person I would most thank would be Michael Beck (mamba). He has always been open and easy to talk to both over email and the phone and always there to lend a hand or ask me to do something. For his cherish friendship and guidance over the years, like you all my friends, I would like to thank cause without it I would have left a long time ago.

Michael Albertsen (Culex)

This month, we would like to recognize Michael Albertsen (Culex) from Denmark for the creation of SmallWorld, our social networking module.

Where are you from, and where do you live now?

I am born in Skagen Denmark, and after a little bit of moving around this is where I live now with my wife Pavlina..

How long have you been programming?

I have been programming since my early teens some centuries ago, back then it was the basic C-64 language, but later I was introduced to HTML and PHP. I think I haven been using PHP since 2005.

What is your expertise?

"To look like I'm working hard but actually doing nothing" In programming I believe I'm beginning to get the hang on PHP, MySQL and to some degree jQuery. Not quite expert yet though

What got you to XOOPS?

I was building a website for a locale radio station I got bored from getting 5 emails every week to change names, schedule, picture etc. and decided to find a CMS system that every user in the radio could use instead, so didn't have to do all the work. Later I also decided to do the same in my own website. Irony is that I'm still doing all the changes in the radio website.

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

XOOPS is easily set-up, it's easily extended and the structure is pretty fast learned. More than this it can be themed so it doesn't look like other websites using XOOPS. Every time I go to a website created in WordPress or Joomla I am never in doubt which system is running it. Plus XOOPS have the coolest users and the best community

Why did you decide to create the SmallWorld module?

I was speaking a few years ago it seems, - to Rune about creating a posting wall where the admin couldn't censor the users posts. Little by little it has become some what more than just a wall module, but I think the general idea is still intact.

What was your most important learning from working on SmallWorld?

A lot of things, I begin to learn the advantages of using classes with modules of a certain size, I learned a lot about AJAX and jQuery and using versioning - most importantly the big, big, big advantage of releasing modules as RC before just going public...there are still some bugs in-there, I know it

What are the future plans for this module? Any other modules in development?

For this module I would like to have all plugins being run only from the SmallWorld pages, at the moment they runs out of preloads. I tried various things but it looks like the code doesn't like my ideas. I'll find a solution though - I hope. Extending the module later with a plugin system would be nice (games, quizzes, polls) and some blocks could be useful (Geo statistics, users you might know, last update, SmallWorld users online) I hope also to find time to start or join a radio suite module, update a bit on my Indexscan module (PHP standard scan, broken links).

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

More inline functionality, most functions at the moment require refresh or pointing to submit pages. It would be more fresh to do all this using for instance AJAX files.

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?

That would have to be Smallworld, closely followed by Xim created together with Andrax

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

I like to travel, read, watch football (called soccer in USA), and listen to some good radio. All of them are a little put on hold at the moment as I had to take an extra jobs. But later I expect to go for 3 weeks to Bulgaria for vacation.

You favorite dish and drink?

Food I don't prepare anything myself, hehe.. I like Danish roasted pork (flæskesteg) or duck - with brown sauce and sweet potatoes. Beer-wise still a big fan of the Bulgarian beer Zagorka but Ariana is catching up. In regular beverages Coffee is the one I like most.

What about movies and music?

I like documentaries at the moment, History channel's "ancient aliens" is very interesting, but historical movies without too much Hollywood drame are good. Music wise I like all genres from Black metal to Lara Fabian or mainstream pop / dance..

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

Having the state of the world in mind, this past week most likely wasn't the worst in history, but still let's try to make the next week better.

If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?

28th of February 2075. Sitting in a big party with a big grin on my face, drinking a beer while the locale fire brigade prepare to put out the candles on my cake

Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?

My mother. She died some 10 years ago very suddenly. A moment or two more with her would be great.

Angelo Rocha (AngeloRocha)

This month, we would like to recognize Angelo Rocha (angelorocha) from Brazil for his work on various innovative modules.

Where are you from, and where do you live now?

I'm from Brazil, I live in the city of Fortaleza in Ceara state.

How long have you been programming?

I started learning programming there four years ago, I took courses in Pascal, C#, Java, and am currently studying PHP and C ++ in college university.

What is your expertise?

HTML, CSS, and usability.

What got you to XOOPS?

In 2008, when looking for a CMS to develop a site, I tested Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress and XOOPS. Among them was the best option XOOPS.

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

Community that is very receptive, modularity and easy customization.

Why did you decide to work on XOOPS Themes?

I always liked the design, when I started working with XOOPS I needed a very specific theme, and that's when I've decided learn how to develop themes, which I thought was pretty simple. What I'm most proud was the first, Illusion Theme.

What are the future plans for other themes? Any other themes in development?

I want to start creating themes exclusively with HTML5 and CSS3. I have some themes to be launched soon.

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

Content management, menu and slides natives.

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?

A knowledge management system, based on SNM Elgg, made to the government agency where I work, is still under development.

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

I like ufology (i want to believe), music and movies.

You favorite dish and drink?

I like pasta, fruit juices to drink.

What about movies and music?

Music: I like Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Hard Core, Punk Rock and Ska. Movies: I like sci-fi films and horror.

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

Please save the planet!

If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?

I was born and raised in West Virginia and also spent some years in southern California. I'm currently living in the Las Vegas, Nevada area.

How long have you been programming?

Back in college in the late 1970's I was taking a digital electronics course where we were designing a microprocessor from discrete logic gates. At the same time I was taking introductory computer science. I got hooked, shifted my focus from engineering to computer science, and never looked back.

What got you to XOOPS?

A gentleman presented a very enthusiastic overview of XOOPS at a Mid Ohio Valley Linux Users Group meeting. I don't remember the exact date, but 2.0 series was fairly new. I started comparing XOOPS functionality to other frameworks used in both my personal and professional pursuits and came to understand the source of that excitement.

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

That is a tie between the community and the module structure. The module structure is simple, powerful and easy to grasp. I read a couple of tutorials and was able to jump right in. Comparing that to the several days spent researching another big name CMS, where buried in jargon I still had only half a clue how to proceed, XOOPS is a clear winner. The real message in that experience is the value of a community that actually gave out real, useful information without requiring a credit card up front. That is a tremendous asset.

Why did you decide to work on the the gwreports ?

The first primitive incarnation was a self defense tool for monitoring and cleaning up a SPAM infestation. When I went to reach for that code again for a new purpose, it seemed like it was time to drop back and do a full design. What emerged was the gwreports module, that I like to think of as system integration duct tape.

You also released previously gwloto module, web based hazardous energy control plan manager. Any plans for other XOOPS modules?

My prices are much lower when I can keep the full rights to the code, and I like open source and the XOOPS platform. I hope there will be lots more. Right now there is a design for a data collection tool on my whiteboard that will probably be released in a few months.

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

Having something like the easiest multi-language hack built into the core would be a godsend in a lot of the local opportunities I encounter.

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?

There are a lot of contenders for that spread across more years than I like to count, and platforms from Amigas to Mainframes, but ultimately I have to hope it will be the project I haven't finished yet.

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

Genealogy is a passion. I also dabble in music, keyboards and drums mostly, with a fondness for classic synths, ARP's are my favorite.

You favorite dish and drink?

Pizza is the perfect food. And although pizza goes best with beer, coffee is the essential beverage, classic Columbian, black.

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

Buy my services, please! No, seriously, it would be that open source isn't about some hippie communist plot; it makes good business sense to not keep re-inventing the wheel and to learn from and leverage the work of others. When I released gwreports to the world, it wasn't an altruistic gesture; it could even be considered selfish. I expect one, or both, of two outcomes. First, it may come back to me even better than it was. Second, it may enable someone else to skip solving this particular problem, and devote more time to something even more useful. Either way, I (and we) win.

I have been programming since 2001. I have started with programming on ADA95, C and C++ during my study. Since 2008 I have been interesting by PHP and took some lessons to improve my knowledge.

What is your expertise?

I am an engineer in microtechnology, and I work in a watchmaking industry, I'm in charge of technical development of new models

What got you to XOOPS?

I discovered XOOPS in 2006. I researched for a CMS for an association I am active in, and XOOPS was the only one that fulfilled my requirements.

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

Xoops has a great community, I like the cooperation between users, there is always someone to help, also the architecture of Xoops is really genius, you can create modules easily and quickly

Why did you decide to work on the ModuleAdmin class?

When I was with the TDM team,we have tried to make a standardized administration. We found that it was important to have the same administration design of our modules. But we have never programmed something to be automatically generated.

Few months ago, I was creating many modules for a website http://www.woc-rock.com/ and in order to save time, I created a class to manage the administration area.

Several weeks ago Mamba told me about a project to standardize the administration and I told him that I have already worked on this topic. So we have improved the whole class. This is mainly a team work with Mamba !

You are working now on a new version of TDMDownloads. What are the future plans for it? Any other modules you're planning?

I noticed that TDMDownload was widely used in the xoops community and unfortunately I had just dropped, so I decided to launch a new version. It's always difficult to maintain a module. Fortunately, a small team is helping me a lot in this version : Mamba, Voltan and Mariane.

I am also working on many other modules and projects, for example:

- a website with Muss - launch of new website: http://www.freexoopservices.com with Mariane, for the management of new themes and modules, this website will be available in the few upcoming weeks. - Finalizing of many modules : Concert, Biography, and discography (modules created for this website http://www.woc-rock.com) - 3 other modules, but for the moment I keep them a secret

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

- integration of the ModuleAdmin Class into the system module - improving classes that are managing the DB in order to make tables joins (maybe it exists but I am not aware of it)

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?

I am coding a new module now, and it will be really my best module. Check with me in few months to see it.

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

I like sports like badminton, skiing and climb. Climbing is my favorite sports because I like nature (mountains, etc ...)

You favorite dish and drink?

My favorite dish is : "Saucisse à rôtir" with potatoes. I like cider, cocktails and wine.

What about movies and music?

I have a preference for DIE HARD trilogy and NCIS series. Concerning music, I listen to old rock, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Dub Incorporation and my brother's groups "Wind Of Change".

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

I think that I would deliver a message to respect Earth for next generations

If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?

I would like to live in "Valais" (mountain area in Switzerland) because I love montains

Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?

I would like to meet "Patrick Edlinger" because he is the best climber and he contributes a lot to this sport

Charly Cobben (chco2)

This month, we would like to recognize Charly Cobben (chco2) from Netherlands for his work on QRCode module

Where are you from, and where do you live now?

I live in the south of The Netherlands (or some call it Holland) in a city called Oosterhout.

How long have you been programming?

It started with my Commodore 64. First Basic and then Machine language. It evolved to the Amiga and finally PC where I've been using Delphi for PC Applications and started off with Perl for web applications.

I guess about eight years ago I started using PHP and dropped Perl.

What is your expertise?

My main working experience is in Marketing. Many years ago (decades ;) ) I was the European Marketing manager for Advanced Gravis Europe, the Europen part of the Canadian based Advanced Gravis. A company back then that created UltraSound soundcards and the PC Gamepad etc.. (some may still know them ;) ). Budgets were low so all marketing material was made by myself and that gradually evolved in my own company called Designburo.nl. Besides graphical work, building engines for websites became part of the work and that lead to XOOPS. Next to that I'm personally very into 3D work. Love the fact that you can create anything in your mind within a 3D world. Lightwave3D has therefore become a passion also and gets me some nice jobs aside ;)

What got you to XOOPS?

Guess I answered that question with the previous question. The need for a good base upon building websites. As a company we (that means me and plenty of freelancers I work with) like to deliver a project, website in this case, that the client can easily maintain without having to call upon us for every little detail. XOOPS fits that profile perfectly. Tried many different CMS's but XOOPS suited us best!

What do you like the most about XOOPS?

For me XOOPS is freedom, ease, flexibility and features. Lately even more since I got to know more programmers that use XOOPS. XOOPS works for many cases straight out of the box with one or two additional modules. The extended features like comments, notifications and user roles make it very suitable for more advanced projects like Intranets within companies. And with the experience I have it is easily extendable.

If there is a glitch somewhere, there are always plenty of people willing to help you out, so the community is very helpful!

Why did you decide to work on the the QRCode?

Well, basically it started with the Module Xurl. We needed a URL shortening module with the ability to create QRCode for QRCode marketing campaigns. We expanded hugely upon the base of Xurl and I figured some the features might be interesting to the XOOPS community. QRCodes are very popular so at first I decided to create the QRCode module for other developers to be able to create QRCode e.g. in their bookmarks etc. Mamba gave me the idea to expand that a bit by adding a complete QRCode generator within the admin section, so no programming is needed to actually create a QRCode.

What are the future plans for it? Any other modules you're planning?

Perhaps it would be a good idea to e.g. create a block for the module so webmasters can add a QRCode generator to their visitors as well. Besides that, more and more usage is found for QRCodes, so updating the module from time to time to fit the needs of the public will be done.

More modules? That is most likely as clients always seem to come up with different needs If it can be shared, it will!

If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?

XOOPS as a CMS is doing its job very nicely! To figure out what makes it tick is sometimes time consuming. So as developer extensive (developers) documentation would be my first thought.

What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?

There are a few things I'm proud of, but most recently it would be the 2lk.nl website based on XOOPS, the XURL module (that gave birth to the QRCode module) and the complete QRCode marketing campaign manager that runs it. There's not many activity on the forums and such, but we can see from the database it is used pretty heavily and that was our goal. Now it needs to start earning money as well :)

What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?

First thing would be my kids! I love being with them as much as getting away from them But they are the biggest part of my life right now and I would not have it any other way! Next to that it's definitely Lightwave3D. If you can imagine it, you can create it for sure. Love creating 3D artwork!

You favorite dish and drink?

I love to cook! I prefer Italian dishes, but the I also like the Dutch food, French, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Greek food! Oh, and the Belgium kitchen is very nice as well. When I am traveling abroad I always order either a Steak or Lasagna. It's funny that I've been to many places and ate a lot of steaks to eventually find the best stake right here in Oosterhout. Eating their "Bife de Lomo" gets me going for a month Next to that I very much like a real good and heavy red whine. And in the evenings I like my whiskey cola (bit too much).

What about movies and music?

Movies ? Too many! Really! I like SF, fantasy, thrillers, comedies and action. But also documentaries. I do own some collections like Stargate-SG1 but also the complete original "The Incredible Hulk" series as well as "The Saint" and "The Persuaders".

If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?

That only takes 5 seconds: "Make religion your guide, not your goal or prophecy. Do not be a fanatic about it and appreciate others in their way of thinking." Many of the world's problems relate to religion, it should not control your life and especially give you control over somebody else's life!

If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?

20's! Love the hats and courteous way back then. I would miss computers though

Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?

Well.. one is hard to meet since he already died ;) (see the question relating music). Besides that I'd love to have a chat with William Shatner. A man at the age of 70 (!) still manages to create so many projects and be so active, I'd like to know what makes him tick! Have you seen his www.myouterspace.com website he launched ? Love that!